Disclaimers: I do not own Power Rangers or any characters affiliated
with
it. They're the exclusive property of Saban Entertainment, Inc. and I
do
not wish to be sued. However, Danny Kain, the Prophet and Tyrant
Ranger
powers, the Virtuosity Rangers' powers, and Ryan Marshak, though he's
an
amalgam from two characters from the show Friday the 13th: the series,
are
all my ideas.

"Hey, Danny," Justin said, as him, Billy, and Trini entered the VRCC.
"I
think we've got it finished." He held up a floppy disk.

"The new AI program is finished?" Danny asked. The trio nodded.
"Awesome,
let's plug it in." Justin handed Danny the floppy, and the Prophet
Ranger
slipped it into the computer. He typed furiously on the computer.
"All
right. Computer?"

"Yes, Danny?" the computer replied.

"Put your main intelligence program on secondary status," Danny said,
"Because I'm about to load your new one."

"As you wish," the computer said, "Main intelligence program now on
secondary."

"Good, because here comes the new AI," Danny said, hitting enter.

"It'll take several minutes to download it into the computer," Trini
said,
"That disk is a modified one Billy was allowed to keep from the Power
Chamber. They're practically antiques now by Eltarian standards,
although
they're still the most powerful floppy disks on Earth."

"I know they'll be of use one day," Billy said, "They hold almost a
hundred
times as much as a regular floppy does. The AI program still almost
filled
it up."

"Download complete," the computer said, "Shall I start the new
program?"

"Of course," Danny said.

"Wait," Billy said, "If you have both programs running, you'll get bad
feedback."

"Oh, right," Danny said, smacking his head. "Good, I'll have to do it
manually. Computer, disengage the secondary AI." No response was all
he
needed, as Danny started typing like a maniac.

Billy sat back and watched him. Now, he considered himself to be a
fast
typist on a computer, and he even clocked himself a few times, but none
of
the best times he could remember clocking compared to Danny's fast
fingers.

"Computer, how are you feeling today?" Danny asked suddenly.

"I'm feeling fine, Danny."

Trini almost cheered when she heard the voice. It was her own. Billy
and
Justin agreed that hers was the best choice for the computer program.

"In fact, I'm feeling awesome," the computer said.

"That's great," Danny said, "All our hard work has paid off.
Computer, run
a diagnostic routine, and see if the program is compromising any other
programs."

"Running diagnostic," the computer said. It took several minutes.
"No
programs have been compromised by the new AI program."

"Oh, that's right," Ernie said, "Danny said he felt guilty helping out
with
regular martial arts classes, when we've got so many people wanting to
help
teach it, so he started up his own class. That kid shows a lot of
initiative."

Ryan smiled. `More than you'll ever know,' he mused.

Outside, Justin was helping Danny teach the class. Justin wasn't as
good
at it as his look alike cousin, but he was getting there slowly but
surely.

"How did you get so good at this?" a student asked. The class
technically
hadn't started yet. This was just a meeting, where Danny told his
students
all that was going to be required of them.

"I was studying for years, before, during, and after I went to the
Olympics," Danny replied, "A man that lived near me taught me. Before
I
left, I was better than he was, surprisingly. If you can believe it,
he
also had me learn under a few of the members of the gymnastics team,
who
were friends of his."

"Gymnastics? That's for girls," one boy said.

"No it's not," Danny said, "There are a lot of guys interested in
gymnastics, and no matter what you hear and/or think, they're not gay.
Well, maybe a few are, but not the group as a whole. You need to have
gymnastics down to be good at this, because your body will sometimes
need to
have the flexibility gymnastics gives you. Has that changed your mind
about
this?" His students shook their heads. "Good. Kim will enjoy having
a few
more students."

The guys in the class groaned. "Class dismissed," Danny said,
grinning.
His students stood up and left.

Justin glanced at his watch. "Only 15 minutes," he said, "The parents
are
going to complain."

"Maybe, but I don't think so," Danny said, "My class is free for the
preliminaries, meaning gymnastics class mostly. When the actual class
begins, my fee for students isn't much. A lot of my students, and
their
parents, are wanting to work with me, because of
my being an Olympic gold medalist. It's the same way with Kim, and her
class."

"True, but it was still too quick a class," Justin pointed out.

Danny laughed. "Yeah, I guess it was, at that," he said, "What do you
say
we go out back, to the future site of the outdoor Juice Bar and Grill?"

"I say the first person there has to buy the next round," Justin
challenged, before he took off.

"Hey, no fair," Danny called after him, as he raced to catch up with
his
cousin.

The Tyrant Ranger was watching the people in the Youth Center,
especially
Billy, Trini, and Ryan. Danny's powers kept him from attacking them
there
however, as well as their homes. He was cloaked, and since Danny
wasn't
there, nobody knew that he was
in the building.

"Blast the force field around this place," the Tyrant Ranger said, "I
can't
even enter this place, unless I'm cloaked, and then I can't hit
anybody."
It wasn't just cloaking he did. In full cloaked mode, he was also
intangible, and couldn't touch anything. "Well, if I can't attack them
here, I'll just bait them out." With that, he teleported out.

Danny beat Justin to the construction site, where they found Adam,
Tanya,
and Jason talking with a man in a hard hat, who they assumed to be the
foreman of the construction company.

The outdoor Juice Bar wasn't going to consist of much. Just a wall,
for
the bar, and the rest was going to be a bunch of tables. Concrete
underneath all of it, of course. The classes were still going to be
held
inside, except for Danny's. There was going to be
a spot for mats and stuff. Currently, he had a small, abandoned
parking lot
next to the building. It had a bunch of mats on it, though he never
used
them. They were there for his students, when the classes actually
began.

All of a sudden, Danny felt the telepathic call to battle by the
computer
in the VRCC. "Guys," he hissed, getting the others attention. Adam,
Tanya,
and Jason quickly excused themselves, and headed over to the two of
them.
The five Rangers then headed up to the teleportation point, in the
guest
room of Tommy and Kim's apartment.

They morphed and teleported away. When they touched down, they found
themselves in the VRCC. "What's going on?" Danny asked, as he sat down
at
the main monitor wall.

"A new virtuamonster calling itself Prionitai and some virtuasoldiers
are
attacking the city," the computer said. Most of the Rangers were
surprised
to hear the new voice, especially since it was Trini's, but quickly got
over
it.

"Computer, teleport Prionitai and the virtuasoldiers to the country
side,"
Danny ordered.

"Done," the computer said. On the screen, the virtuamonster and
virtuasoldiers all disappeared.

"Let's go, guys," Tommy said, and they all teleported out.

When they touched down on the battle field, they found themselves in a
deserted field. Prionitai looked surprised. "What have you done,
Rangers?"
the virtuamonster demanded.

"Just taking this battle field to where it won't cause any damage,"
Danny
said, "Scythe of Prophecy." His diamond bladed scythe appeared in his
hands, and he dove towards Prionitai.

"Foolish Ranger," Prionitai said, "Don't you know anything? Just my
breath
is deadly." A foul gas emitted from what looked to be his mouth. It
engulfed the battle field.

Danny took a whiff. "It's bad, I'll grant you that," he said, "But
not
deadly."

Prionitai growled, trying to be menacing, but it didn't work. "Maybe
not
deadly for you," he said, "But I'd check on your companions." With
that,
the virtuamonster disappeared, along with the virtuasoldiers.

Danny turned to the Virtuosity Rangers, to find them scattered about
on the
ground, writhing like they were in pain. He rushed over to Tommy, who
was
the closest one. "Computer, teleport the others to the VRCC now," he
commanded, through his mental link to the computer.

The Virtuosity Rangers were teleported away, and Danny was right
behind
them. They landed in the newly finished medlab, where some robotic
doctors
were looking over the Rangers.

"This is bad, Danny," the computer said, "Medical scans of the
Virtuosity
Rangers indicate the presence of prions in their system."

"They're the most dangerous natural disease causing agent known," the
computer said, "They're also known as paradox retroagents. They're
simple
by nature, yet complex in many ways."

"So, how do we cure the others?" Danny inquired.

"I'll have to search the databanks the Phantom Ranger left," the
computer
said, "Hopefully, what he knew will help us here."

"I've got an even better idea," Danny said, "Can you get me online
with the
Phantom Ranger?"

"Yes, but it'll take me several minutes."

"Then do it, and call me when he's on the line," Danny said, "One more
question, though. How come the filters in the masks didn't keep out
the
prions?"

"Prions are so basic, that they are hard to filter out," the computer
said,
"They're even more microscopic than viruses."

Causing the helmet to flow back and expose his face, Danny rubbed the
bridge of his nose. All the technical talk was giving him a headache.
"This is just too much for me to keep up with," he said, "Can you tone
down
the technobabble?"

"Sure thing, Danny," the computer said, "Prions are more basic than
viruses, and are hard to filter out. Your powers protected you because
they're so strong, but we didn't create the Virtuosity powers with
prion
filters in mind."

"Yeah, well, add them while the Virtuosity Rangers are powered down,"
Danny
said.

"As you wish, Danny," the computer said, "By the way, I have been able
to
get the Phantom Ranger online."

"Bring him onscreen at my command," Danny said, "Back to action." His
helmet melted back into place, and the Phantom Ranger appeared on the
viewscreen. "Hi there. I've heard a lot about you."

"Funny, you're a Ranger, but I haven't heard a thing about you," the
Phantom Ranger said, "What are you doing in my old headquarters?"

"Defending the Earth against the Tyrant Ranger, that's what," Danny
replied, "Me and my team, that is. We're the universe's only line of
defense against the greatest evil ever known."

"The Tyrant Ranger?" Danny could almost see the eyebrows raise on
whoever
was under the Phantom Ranger mask. "Then, you are the Prophet Ranger?"

Danny nodded. "That's right," he said, "Look, I need your help. How
fast
can you get here?"

"I'll be there in about ten minutes, Terran time," the Phantom Ranger
said,
"Phantom out." With that, the screen went blank.

Ten minutes later, the Phantom Ranger was flying into a hangar that
seemed
to be specially made for his ship. Danny was there waiting on him. "I
guess we got off to a kind of bad start," Danny said. He extended his
hand.
"Let's start over. Hi, I'm Danny
Kain. Who are you?"

"You can call me Phantom," the Phantom Ranger said, shaking Danny's
hand.
"It's a pleasure to meet the Prophet Ranger." Danny shrugged modestly.
"Now, what seems to be the problem?"

"It's my team," Danny said, "They've been stricken by prions breathed
on
them by a monster named Prionitai. Can you help them?"

The Phantom Ranger seemed to hesitate, then nodded. "It's rather
simple,
really," he said, "Most diseases linked to a monster like that are
wiped out
of its victims when the monster is destroyed."

"You won't be alone, Prophet Ranger," Phantom Ranger said, "I will be
there
with you, if you want."

"Thank you, Phantom," Danny said, "And please, call me Danny."

"All right, Danny," Phantom Ranger said, "So, what do you usually do
when
waiting for a monster and some of the Tyrant Rangers cannon fodder to
attack?"

"They're called virtuasoldiers, Phantom," Danny said, "And we usually
go to
the new Youth Center, but that's off. I can't go without the others.
That
would look more than a bit strange." All of a sudden, an alarm went
off.

"Well, it's a moot point now anyway, it would seem," Phantom Ranger
said.

"Computer, identify problem," Danny said.

"Prionitai has returned, with some virtuasoldiers," the computer said,
"Teleporting them to the country, as per usual."

"Thank you, computer," Danny replied. He glanced at the Phantom
Ranger,
who was watching him curiously. "Ready?" The Phantom Ranger nodded.
Danny
stood up, and the two of them teleported off.

When they got to the battle field, Prionitai and the virtuasoldiers
were
waiting on them, and attacked. Danny and the Phantom Ranger easily cut
through the masses of virtuasoldiers.

When they got down to Prionitai, the virtuamonster growled. "You're
going
down, Rangers," it roared.

Without a spoken word, Danny and the Phantom Ranger called upon their
weapons and then crossed them, issuing forth a blast that completely
obliterated Prionitai.

"Let's get back to the VRCC," Danny said. Phantom nodded, and both of
them
teleported back to headquarters.

When they got there, they found the Virtuosity Rangers up and about.

"Virtuosity Rangers, I do believe that it is time to reveal my
identity,"
the Phantom Ranger said, "Prepare yourselves." That got the teams
undivided
attention, and the Phantom Ranger reached up and undid the straps on
his
helmet, and pulled it off. The Rangers all gasped, as they saw the
Phantom
Ranger to be...

To be continued...

Note from the author: Sorry for leaving at such a bad time, but I
wanted to
build the suspense more, and this seemed like the best way. Believe
me,
when you see the Phantom Rangers identity, it'll be well worth the
wait.
Also, I have to admit, I got the idea about prions from both the fanfic
Contagion in the Terran Rangers series and from Lost World (the book).